


That Was Like A Punch In The Nose

by scrappylittlegleek



Category: Supergirl (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, F/F, Parent Kara Danvers, Parent Lena Luthor, Parenthood, Supercorp child, domestic supercorp, parenting supercorp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2020-10-04 04:15:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20464865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrappylittlegleek/pseuds/scrappylittlegleek
Summary: Kara and Lena get a call from their daughter Lydia's school after she punched a classmate in the face.Basically just supercorp parenting their teenage daughter who may or may not have inherited Kara's powers





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [belizafryler (embracedself)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/embracedself/gifts).

> There are mentions of Kara and Lena having another daughter named Lori, she has no correlation to the Lori in my other fics. This is completely separate from my multi chap fic where they're fostering kids. 
> 
> Trigger warning: use of anti-gay slurs and mentions of blood

Kara wasn’t used to getting calls from her daughter's school. Sure, there were a few times she got an email from Lori’s elementary school asking if they could tell Lori to stop correcting her teachers in class but other than that, it wasn’t like either of her kids got in trouble. Especially not Lydia. Her biggest crime was breaking her school's ridiculous dress code. And it wasn’t like she’d gotten in any real trouble for that. In fact, it had been Lena who told her ‘it is 90 degrees outside, you can wear whatever the fuck you want as long as you pass your classes and don’t argue with your teachers.’ So naturally, Kara was shocked when she got a call from Lydia’s principal telling her Lydia had been suspended.

“She beat someone up,” he’d said, to which Kara burst out laughing.

“Yeah, no. Lydia wouldn’t do that,” she responded. 

“Ms. Danvers, your daughter attacked one of her classmates in the hall.” 

Kara had paused to refrain herself from telling him that was absolute bullshit. Lydia was five feet tall and thin as a twig despite eating Big Belly Burger at least twice a week, her little sister was probably stronger than she was. 

“She broke his nose, he had to be taken to the hospital,” her principal had responded. 

“Lydia?” Kara raised an eyebrow. “Listen, I know she… stands out… from the other students but I really don’t think she would do something like that.” 

Recently, Lydia had been experimenting with her style and wearing darker clothes and makeup. She’d lightened her hair and had Lena cut her bangs for her. Both her moms had been completely accepting in her transition from being a pastel loving bubbly little girl to slightly gothic teenager. Lena a little more than Kara. Mostly because she found it hilarious that her daughter was dressing almost exactly the way she had when she was younger. (Lydia wasn’t too happy about her mom seeing her with heavy black eyeliner, fishnets stockings and doc martens with three-inch platforms only to go “oh my goodness you look so cute!”) 

However, Lydia’s school wasn’t as impressed with the makeover she’d given herself as her parents were. Though it was never said out loud, they all knew Lydia had been labeled a problem child. And it was clear as day that her having two moms certainly wasn’t helping her situation. It was almost as if they were waiting for her to act out so they’d have an excuse to punish her, so Kara wasn’t all too convinced her principal was telling the whole truth. 

“I have her in my office now. I know you don’t want to hear this, but she punched a student. We have a no violence policy and Lydia violated it. She’s going to be suspended,” the principal continued. 

Kara sighed, still quite believing she was being told the full story. “Alright, I’ll call my wife and we’ll pick her up as soon as we can.” 

* * *

Lena and Kara walked side by side through the hall of their daughter's high school, Lena’s heels clicking loudly with every step until they reached the office. The walls were covered floor to ceiling in red lockers and bulletin boards with snobby newsletters that Kara and Lena almost always ignored unless Lydia told them it was something important. 

They’d made the decision to send both their daughters to private school so Lori could take part in their accelerated learning program and both of them would get to avoid paparazzi who constantly hounded Lena since the school was in a more reserved part of National City. However, that meant much stricter teachers and an administration who was far more judgemental than they would find anywhere else. Kara and Lena had even considered homeschooling a few times, but neither of them wanted to give up their jobs and both their girls liked their teachers and friends, so they put up with it. 

Both Kara and Lena firmly believed if Lydia had beaten someone up, she must’ve had a reason, even if the administration was trying to keep it from them. 

* * *

Once they reached the office, they took their seats on either side of their daughter, who was slouched in her chair with her arms folded her chest, glaring angrily at the man sitting across the desk, who’d introduced himself as Principal West. She didn’t even look up when they entered. She knew she was sure to be in a world of trouble when she eventually did face her parents. But what was worse was knowing she’d have to see the disappointment on her mom's faces when they realized she really had done what Mr. West said she did. 

“Ms. Luthor, I’m not sure how much your wife told you so I guess I’ll let your daughter explain her version of what happened,” Mr. West began. He glanced over at Lydia and gestured for her to begin, to which she let out a reluctant sigh.

“This guy, Jordan, was being a jerk,” she said with a shrug. 

“Did you punch him?” Lena asked, her tone much calmer than Lydia had expected. 

“Barley.” 

“Lydia?”

“Okay, I did but he’s huge. I didn’t think it would actually do anything,” Lydia said defensively. “And he was asking for it.” 

She sat up straight and looked up at Mr. West. “You can suspend me if you want, I really don’t care.” 

“Lydia,” Lena chastized, her face growing red with heat. “Apologize.” 

Lydia didn’t respond. She just stared straight ahead of her as she listened to her parents apologize on her behalf. 

“I swear, she’s never done anything like this before,” Kara said defensively. “We’ll talk to her when we get home. Trust me, I have no idea where this is coming from.” 

“Alright,” Mr. West stood up and Lydia’s moms quickly did the same. “All her work will be emailed to her, I expect she’ll come back with all of her completed assignments.” 

“She will, don’t worry,” Lena assured. “I’m so sorry this happened, we’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything like this again.” 

Mr. West forced a smile and nodded. “I hope so.” 

* * *

“Lydia, why would you do something like this?” Lena asked as soon as they were back in the hallway. She folded her arms over her chest as she stared down her daughter, trying to figure out where this sudden outburst was coming from. “If you’ve been having problems at school, you know you can talk to us about it, right?” 

Lydia shrugged. 

“Did something happen that we don’t know about?” Kara pressed, but all she got was another shrug. 

“Then why would you do something like this?” 

“I don’t know, can we please just go home?” Lydia all but begged. 

“No, we can’t just _ go home_. You broke someone's nose, they’re in the hospital right now because you punched them. So we’re going to stand here until you can explain to me why you felt like that was okay,” Lena said firmly. 

A lump formed in Lydia’s throat as she felt her eyes filled with burning tears that blurred her vision and filled her with rage. She looked down at the ground, staring at the tile until her head throbbed from staring so fiercely. There was no way she could explain why she’d done what she’d done, not without offending Lena. So she was stuck getting lectured and grounded until Lori did something wrong and her parents moved onto that. 

“Was he trying to pressure you into something you didn’t want to do? Did he try to touch you? Is that why you--”

“No, he wasn’t hitting on me,” Lydia said sharply. “He was just being an asshole.” 

“Language,” Lena scolded. 

“Sorry.” 

“Can you just tell us why? I know you wouldn’t punch someone without a reason,” Kara asked. “We won’t be mad if you were protecting yourself.” 

Lydia bit her lip and looked up at her moms who were watching her with eyes full of confusion and pain. She’d never acted out before. She’d only been yelled at once, and even then she hadn’t done enough to get into any real trouble. She hated knowing she was truly disappointing her mom’s for the first time. 

“Lydia, you can talk to us,” Lena said softly. 

Letting out a sigh, Lydia looked up and bit her lip. “He saw Mom’s press conference online and was making fun of you and I got mad.” 

Lena looked over at Kara as she felt a weight lift off her shoulder. 

“Lydia, there are always going to be people who don’t like me. You can’t go around breaking people's noses because they disagree with something I said or they’re making fun of me,” Lena said. “I know it hurts when people talk badly about your family but if you react like that you’re only feeding into their hate and giving them more reason to continue spreading ignorance.” 

Lydia shook her head. “It wasn’t about something you said.”

“Then what was it about?” 

“He called you a faggot. He said he heard Mama only married you because she felt bad that you couldn’t find a man.” 

Lena’s breath caught in her throat at the confession. She hated to admit it but she almost felt relieved. Lydia hadn’t been acting out, she’d just been trying to defend her mom. And though Lena would never tell her daughter this, she knew if she’d been in Lydia’s position she would’ve done much more than just break his nose. 

“Okay,” she said as she took a minute to take it all in. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to really hurt him. I barely even touched him but as soon as I hit him he flew backward and there was blood everywhere. It was crazy! And I didn’t know what to do so I just stood there because I had no idea I could to that.” 

Lena let out a nervous chuckle, unsure of how else to react. “Well, as your mom, I’m gonna tell you that it doesn’t matter what he said, you’re not allowed to punch people. But as myself, I’m going to say that was badass,” Lena said and reached up to give her a high five. “And under no circumstances can you repeat this, but he deserved that broken nose.” 

Kara pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, glancing over at Lena nervously. Lydia should _not _ have been able to do that. After almost seventeen years of her growing up at the same pace as her human peers, she and Lena had been very skeptical that she would ever acquire the same abilities as Kara. But breaking someone's nose without knowing how to throw a punch the right way was definitely not normal, especially since it was coming from their flimsy teenage daughter. 

“And you only hit him once?” Kara asked. 

“Yeah.”

Kara sighed. She didn’t want to bring it up in the middle of Lydia’s school, but if Lydia’s powers were really coming in, she’d have to learn how to control them so she didn’t end up hurting anyone else. 

“Okay, well we should get you home before Principal West kicks us out,” she said with a forced laugh. She draped her arm over Lydia’s shoulder and placed a kiss on the top of her head. 

“Do you guys want to stop for ice cream? I know we shouldn’t be rewarding you for breaking a kids nose, but I feel like you’ve earned it,” Kara suggested. If she was going to break the news to her daughter that she may or may not have superpowers, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to do it in an ice cream parlor surrounded by other people so she couldn’t freak out. And at the very least, after the day they’d had, Kara believed they were pretty deserving of some dessert.

Even if their daughter did just send a classmate to the hospital.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena talk to Lydia about her potential powers. Lydia overhears something she was never meant to hear when she discovers her superhearing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, this chapter is kinda Lydia centric, the next one will have more Supercorp

“Powers? Like the ones Mama has?” 

Kara tilted from side to side as if she were weighing it out in her head. “Well, kind of.”

Lydia nodded slowly and stirred her milkshake with her straw. “So… does that mean I can eat an entire pizza like you can? Because I’d love to be able to do that.” 

Kara let out a nervous laugh. Only her daughter would react that way to finding out they may have superhuman abilities. 

“Maybe,” she said. “But I meant more like breaking someone's nose without really touching them.”

“Oh.”

“Why do you sound disappointed?’ 

“I’d rather be able to eat the way you do but I guess that’s cool too,” Lydia said with a shrug. “What about the other stuff though? Like the laser eyes and freeze breathing thing, can I do that?” 

“Well we can’t--”

“Ooh, what about the x-ray vision? And the super hearing, will I learn how to do that too?” 

“We aren’t sure,” Lena said flatly, causing Lydia’s smile to falter almost instantly. “You went almost seventeen years growing up just like everyone else so it’s hard to tell.”

Lydia sighed and leaned back against her seat. She hated not knowing things about herself. It just wasn’t fair that her mom was the one to tell her all this, she should’ve known. She  _ should _ know if superstrength is it, or if she’ll ever be as powerful as Kara. It was all starting to become very confusing. All she’d done was break a kid’s nose and now she was being told she might be able to set her homework on fire by glaring at it too hard. And sure, she would love to set her homework on fire, what high school student wouldn’t? But it was still so much so fast, it just didn’t make sense why it was finally happening now. 

“But if you do inherit the rest of Mama’s powers, you’re going to need to control them,” Lena continued. “I know you would never intentionally hurt anyone, but the stuff you might be able to do is dangerous, you’d need to learn to keep them in check.” 

Lydia folded her hands in her lap and pulled at her fingertips. It was really starting to sink in. 

She might be as powerful as her mom. 

* * *

“So, what do you think of the whole  _ Lydia being a mini Supergirl _ thing?” Lena asked as she sat down on the edge of her bed, clad in nothing but a bathrobe and slippers. 

“I’m not sure if I should be excited or terrified,” Kara admitted with a chuckle. “I mean, I’m happy for her, of course, but it’ll definitely be an adjustment. For all of us, not just her.”

Lena nodded, mindlessly twirling a strand of wet hair around her finger. “Maybe she won’t have all of them, maybe it’s just super strength.” 

“Is it bad that I hope that’s the case?” Kara asked.

Lena shook her head. “No. I trust her, I know she’s a good kid but I’m not exactly the biggest fan of knowing she can listen in on us whenever she wants to.”

Sure, Lena and Kara both knew Lydia probably wasn’t going to constantly eavesdrop on them; she had much better things to be doing. But knowing she  _ could _ be frightened them. After all, it wasn’t like Kara hadn’t used her abilities to check up on both her daughters when they weren’t aware of it. It was just motherly concern. 

But besides that, Kara knew how painful it could be to constantly feel the weight of her strength on her shoulders. Every time something that was out of her control went wrong, guilt collapsed and crumbled on top of her like a burning building, trapping her inside. Kara had the ability to help people. And every time she failed, that seemed to outweigh the hundreds of people she’d saved. She would hate for Lydia to share the same burden. 

Or worse, the never-ending sensory overload. The unbearable loudness that seemed to swallow her whole when she was in a room with more than ten people. Even if it was silent to everyone else, there was always something eating away at her, a far of noise that grew louder with every passing second. And then there were the painfully bright lights that only seemed to hurt Kara. And the inability to make it all just stop so she could have a minute to breathe. 

Of course, Kara was worried about Lydia using her potential powers to overstep her boundaries but more than anything, she didn’t want Lydia to suffer the way she had just so she could learn how to do a few cool tricks. 

“I just want her to be happy,” Kara said, each word picked with caution. “I know she’d have a great time learning how to these amazing things but it’s so much responsibility and she’s so young. If she can do all the same things as me, I want her to have a good experience with her powers but I don’t know how to give her that since they can be so hard to deal with sometimes.”

“Well, if she does have them you’ll teach her what to expect and you’ll help her through it,” Lena said as she draped an arm over Kara’s shoulder to pull her close. 

Kara nodded and rested her head on Lena’s shoulder. 

“And she’s mature for her age, I don’t think she’d do anything too dumb,” Lena reassured. “And I can get her some led framed glasses and try to figure out how to make earplugs that’ll block Kryptonian hearing.” 

“You can do that? You can make earplugs that’ll actually help with our hearing?” 

Lena shrugged. “I mean probably, it can’t be too hard, right?” 

“Can you make me a pair too?” Kara asked. 

“Of course,” Lena said and planted a kiss on her wife's lips. “Anything for you.” 

* * *

Lydia mindlessly wandered into the living room, in desperate need of something to do. It had been a few days since Kara and Lena broke the news to her and she’d been doing her best not to think about it. But not thinking about it had turned out to be even harder than thinking about it, since it meant she needed to occupy herself every second of the day with something else to worry about. In her attempts to keep distracted, she’d even spent over two hours doing her trigonometry homework right after it had been emailed to her, despite the fact that she had no idea what she was doing. All she knew was that being suspended was making her stir crazy, which was not doing any favors to the panic inside her that erupted every time she thought about what Kara told her. She had absolutely no idea how to process it or what to do about it. So she told herself she just wouldn’t do anything about it until absolutely necessary. And now, Lydia needed a break from all the not processing and freaking out over every single possibility of what could be happening to her. She knew if she didn’t get one, she was going to lose it. 

“Hey, can you punch me?” She asked Lori, who was lying upside-down on the couch, swinging her legs in the air, and watching a Disney movie. 

“Why?” She asked without looking up. 

Lydia shrugged. “I want to see if it’ll hurt. So punch me.” 

As far as Lydia knew, nobody had told Lori about the incident at school. Or the fact that her older sister might have inherited more of her mom's Kryptonian genetics than they’d originally thought. But she was almost positive Lori wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to full-force punch her in the stomach with no consequences what-so-ever. And besides, Lydia needed Lori to punch her for… scientific reasons. Kara never got hurt when human criminals tried to attack her, so if Lydia was somehow developing the same strength, logically her ten-year-old sister shouldn’t be able to beat her up. 

“No.” 

“What? Why not?” 

“Because,” Lori said. “You get to stay home from school all week and I don’t and it isn’t fair.” 

“Lori--”

“You get whatever you want, so I’m not gonna hit you.” 

Lydia groaned and threw her head back dramatically. “Come on,” she whined. “Stop being so annoying and punch me, it’ll take like two seconds!” 

“Nope.” 

“I’ll get you food after school tomorrow,” Lydia bribed, her voice filled with exasperation. “I’ll pick you up and we can take the bus to Big Belly Burger.” 

That got Lori’s attention. She clumsily rolled off the couch and popped up off the ground, watching Lydia from behind the sofa. She folded her arms over her chest and watched her sister, who now had a very hopeful look on her face. 

“Can I get cheesy fries?” 

“You can get whatever you want, just punch me,” Lydia urged and gestured for Lori to come over to her. 

And that was when she heard it. 

At first, she thought she’d imagined it, but then it happened again. It was faint at first, a small breath in her ear. But it grew louder with every passing second until it was the only thing she could hear. A sound Lydia had hoped she’d never hear. 

Moaning. Coming from her mom’s room. Kissing and hands-on being placed on areas she did not want to think about. Seductive whispering 

Lydia cringed as she heard her Mama’s voice, a low whisper that rang in her ear like the pounding of a drum. 

_ “We shouldn’t be doing this, what if one of the girls walks in?”  _

“Oh God,” Lydia mumbled and covered her ears with her hands. She had to make it stop, she had to make  _ them _ stop. But, the noise only got louder. The sound of Lena telling her not to worry, they weren’t loud enough to be noticeable. And for a split second after that, there was silence. The sound of sweet nothingness that allowed Lydia to release a breath and hope with everything in her that the god awful experience would finally be over. But as soon as it ended, the moaning began once more, starting harmoniously at the exact second Lori’s fist collided with her stomach. 

Lydia felt the hand against her skin, pounding into her strong enough that she stumbled backward, just barley catching her balance so she could stop herself from completely falling to the ground. 

“That hurt,” she muttered, causing Lori to giggle as she watched her older sister bring a hand to where she’d been hit. 

Lydia looked down at her herself and tried to collect her thoughts which seemed to be scattered all over the place once more. She just had to do what Lena taught her to do when things got overwhelming; make a list of what’s happening and once it’s all out, reassess if it’s something to be anxious about or not. 

Letting out a shaky breath, Lydia stood up straight and tried to recompose herself. She could do that, she could make a list of what was happening. 

-She punched a football player and broke his nose. 

-She found out she may or may not have superpowers. 

-Lori hit her in the stomach and it hurt, despite her apparent strength. 

-She’d overheard her mom’s doing the nasty. 

_ It could be worse, right? _ She tried to tell herself.  _ I could’ve overheard them doing some kinky shit, at least I know they’re not into any weird stuff.  _

“Do you want me to do it again?” Lori asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

And that was enough for Lydia to let out an angry huff before running back to her room and slamming the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how far should I extend this? Because it was only going to be one chapter, and I'm down for whatever you guys want so should this be extended more than 3 chapters?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena find out their daughter overheard them. Lydia experiences sensory overload for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> possible trigger warning for panic attacks/sensory overload

Kara and Lena seemed exceptionally happy as they set the table for breakfast before sitting down across from their daughters and starting their meal. They stole quick kisses and smiles from across the table, to which Lydia couldn’t help but feel her stomach churn as she thought about how energized they both seemed. It was very unlike most mornings where Lena was inches away from falling asleep in her cereal and Kara seemed like she might pour orange juice into her coffee instead of milk if one of her daughters didn’t notice her mistake first. 

The thought of why they were in such good moods made Lydia’s appetite shrivel up into a little ball so tiny that it may as well have disappeared completely. Grimacing across the table at her parents, she pushed her plate away from her, which got her a very concerned look from Lena. 

“Hey, are you feeling okay?” 

A nod. 

“Are you sure?” 

Another nod. 

“Okay well if you--”

“You guys are loud,” Lydia blurted out. 

Lena’s face paled as she looked over at Kara, who had turned as red as the jelly on Lori’s toast. 

Lydia couldn’t have overheard what they thought she overheard, right? There was no way, they’d been quiet, they’d been extra careful. She would’ve said something. So no, it couldn’t have been possible. 

“We-- what?” Kara stammered and dropped her fork. 

“You’re loud,” Lydia deadpanned. “Like  _ really _ loud.” 

Lena stiffly drew in a breath. “Lori love, can you go get dressed for school?” 

“But I didn’t get to eat anything,” Lori said, pouting as she gestured sadly to her full plate. 

“I know, you can eat once you’re ready, okay?” Lena said; using a tone that told her not to argue. 

Lori groaned and reluctantly stood up and pushed her chair in before walking back to her room. 

“So… what did you hear?” Kara asked, deciding it was better to just rip the bandaid off. 

“Too much,” Lydia said with a disgusted look. “It was like one second I couldn’t hear anything and then the next it was just-- you two.” 

Lena and Kara exchanged nervous glances, neither of them quite sure how to respond to that. 

Kara nodded slowly and looked down at her plate. She knew it was a childish reaction, but if she looked at Lena any longer she was going to burst into a fit of nervous laughter. So instead, she looked at her breakfast, wishing she could eat instead of having what was already the most uncomfortable conversation of her life. 

“And it went on for so long,” Lydia continued, wanting her parents to feel the embarrassment she had. “I tried to put my headphones in and turn the volume up all the way, but I ran out of music and you were  _ still _ going.” 

“Well, your Mama has great stamina,” Lena said and shot Kara a look, which made her turn even redder. 

“Stop!” Lydia exclaimed and clasped her hands over her ears. “Just stop talking, please!” 

Lena gave a quiet apology between her small fits of laughter, which Lydia begrudgingly accepted. 

“Look, I think the takeaway here should be your super hearing,” Lena said, a pathetic attempt to change the subject. 

“And since you’re sixteen, I feel like we should be able to have a grown-up conversation about all this.” 

Lydia raised an eyebrow. “About what? Sex.” 

Kara choked on nothing at Lydia’s response. She tried to cover it with an awkward cough, which got her a confused look from Lena and a very unsympathetic glare from Lydia. 

“Anyways,” Kara crossed one leg over the other folded her hands on the table, trying to regain some sort of composure. “Yes, you’re old enough that you know if you do… you know.. Have questions about… that… you can talk to us.” 

Both Lydia and Lena cringed. 

“Can I get ready for school now?”

“Yes please,” Lena said a little too quickly. 

* * *

Lydia held the eyeliner pen millimeters away from her face. She leaned over her dresser so she could see herself in the mirror (a daily struggle as she was only 5’1) and focused on the slow movement of tracing the crease across her eyelid. It was easier said than done though. Ever since she’d punched that jerk in the hallway all her senses had been thrown out of whack. It made everything so much bigger. Recently, it had started coming almost unbearable. 

The dishwasher was running in the kitchen. Lori was humming a Taylor Swift song while she brushed her hair in the other room. Both her moms had put their heels on. It was all so damn  _ loud. _ The clicking and the chatting and whir of running water, it all made Lydia feel like her head was about to explode. 

She squeezed her eyes shut and dropped the eyeliner pen, the sound of the tiny object crashing against the floor causing her to jump back and cover her ears with her hands. She pressed as hard as she could but the noise still managed to seep through her fingers. The dishwasher was beeping now and she could hear Lena’s heels smashing against the kitchen tiles. It felt like the universe was collapsing on top of her, burying her beneath it in an inescapable pile of rubble. It was as if the rest of the world had gone completely silent so that all the small sounds coming from the penthouse were amplified louder than a rocket engine. 

Before she could stop herself, a loud, fearful  _ ‘Mama!’ _ escaped Lydia’s lips. And soon enough, Kara was at her side (the superhuman speed something they both were infinitely grateful for), asking what was wrong. 

“It’s so much,” Lydia managed to force out, her hands still clamped over her ears, her eyes shut so tight it was almost painful. “So loud.” 

Lydia felt a gentle but steady hand on her back, one she could always rely on to be there for her whenever she was scared. 

“Okay,” Kara said softly. 

“We’re gonna sit down, alright?” She said before carefully guiding Lydia to her bed and sitting down beside her. 

She could her daughter's heart pounding against her chest so forcefully Kara worried it might break. Her breathing was laborious and forced, like it was taking up all the energy she had in her. It was painful to listen to, Kara could only imagine how terrifying it must’ve been for Lydia. 

“I’m gonna count to five and you’re gonna breathe in with me, okay?” 

Lydia nodded. She listened to the gentle sound of her mom’s voice counting to five as she drew in a shaky breath. 

“Now I’m gonna count to ten and you’re gonna slowly exhale,” Kara instructed, making an exhale motion with her hand as Lydia released the breath. 

“You’re doing really good, but do you think you can open your eyes? It’ll help keep you grounded.” 

Lydia nodded once more and slowly opened her eyes. But once she could see again, the light began to burn and all the images bombarded her. The noise was getting louder again and walls were becoming clear, she could see everything. It was as if the whole world were disappearing yet growing at the same time. But the worst part was that she had no way of escaping. 

Kara could hear her heart begin to pound violently once more. It was louder and stronger than before. Knowing her daughter was in this much distress made her want to panic too. Her little girl was in pain and she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to stop it. But she knew if she began to even let her breathing pick up its pace, Lydia would be able to sense her anxiety. And if she knew her mom, who she’d always used as her rock, was scared too, everything would get so much worse. 

“How do you make it stop?” Lydia asked, a fearful and quiet cry. “It’s like this for you all the time, how do you make it okay?” 

“Here,” Kara said, taking her glasses off the bridge of her nose and gently placing them on Lydia’s face. 

“They’re lined with lead so they’ll suppress your vision,” she explained. “You can wear mine until I find another pair for you. I know they don’t solve everything, but it helps take some of it away.” 

Lydia sniffed and wiped her nose, her breathing beginning to even out. “It’s still so loud. It’s like… I don’t know...” 

“It feels like ringing in one ear and TV static in the other while every little noise is blasted a million times louder than it actually is?” 

Lydia nodded. “Yeah. It really fucking sucks.” 

“Sorry.” 

Kara chuckled and shook her head. “It’s okay. Now I want you to try to keep breathing with me, just until you start to calm down a little bit, alright?” 

The next ten minutes or so, Kara spent with Lydia squeezing her hand as her breathing slowly began to even out. It was a tedious process for both of them, but eventually, Kara could hear Lydia’s heart rate go back to a somewhat normal pace and her breaths become more steady and consistent. 

And once she felt like she could speak again, Lydia asked the question that had been on her mind since the whole thing started. “What happened? What was that?” 

“You had a panic attack,” Kara responded. “You were having sensory overload because of your powers and it triggered something in your brain that made you panic. But you’re okay, we’re getting it under control.” 

Lydia bit her lip and nodded. Everything inside her still felt on edge. As if the slightest thing could set it off again at any moment. Like she was a ticking time bomb, just waiting to implode on herself. 

“Hey,” Kara placed a hand on her daughter's knee. “I know how scary it is, but you’re gonna get through it, okay? We’re gonna figure out how to make your super hearing less… super.” 

Lydia nodded but she didn’t seem convinced. 

“I promise, it’s gonna get better, we’re going to make it work,” Kara added, but there was still no change. 

“What if it happens again?” Lydia asked. She began bouncing her knee up and down the same way Lena did when she had too much coffee. “What if I keep having panic attacks?” 

Kara sighed. She knew it was more likely than not that she would have another one. She knew Lydia wasn’t going to adapt overnight to her powers. She also knew the pressure of school and having to apply to college over the summer had been eating away at Lydia recently and that alone was enough to cause an immense amount of anxiety in any teenager. And it hurt more than Kara could describe to know that there was only so much she could do to help. 

“You might,” Kara said after a moment of hesitation. She could see Lydia’s eyes fill with tears once more at her response. It felt like a slap in the face. 

“And I know that’s not what you want to hear, but your mom and I are gonna be here for you no matter what; so if you ever feel one coming on, we will do everything we can to help.” 

Lydia bit her lip and nodded once more. “Thank you.” 

“Of course,” Kara said, placing a kiss on the top of Lydia’s head. 

She drew in a breath and looked down at her daughter, who seemed so grown up but so little at the same time. 

“You know it’s nothing to be ashamed of, right?” She said softly. “I get them too sometimes, so does Mom.” 

“Really?” 

Kara nodded. “Yeah, we both know what it’s like.” 

Lydia bit her lip and looked down at her lap. She wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. She didn’t know how to say that somehow, hearing her parents went through the same thing, somehow helped, without sounding insensitive. She wasn’t sure if it was possible to put all the thoughts swirling around her brain into words. But maybe that was okay. Because before either of them could say or do anything else, Lena opened the door and spoke for them. 

“Kara, Lori’s ready to go, can--” she stopped in her tracks, noticing the tear tracks all down Lydia’s cheeks, her puffy eyes, and bright red cheeks. “Oh, I can drive her myself if you need to take a mental health day, Lyds.” 

Wiping her eyes, Lydia shook her head and stood up. Every school year, she and Lori got three mental health days where they could stay home from school, no questions asked and Kara or Lena would tell their teachers they were sick. The only rule was if either of them started asking for more, they would have to have a talk real talk with their parents about their mental health. So far, Lydia had used two, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to waste her third now after a week of being suspended. 

“No, I’m okay,” she said, with a very unconvincing smile. 

Lena raised an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest. 

“I promise, I’m fine.” 

“Okay, Lori’s waiting in the car, I’ll be with you guys in a minute.” 

Once she was gone, Lena sat down on the spot next to Kara and took her wife's hand in her own. “What happened? Is she okay?” 

Kara nodded. “I think she’ll be fine. She had a panic attack though, the super hearing and all that was way too much so I need to start figuring out how I’m gonna teach her to control her powers without making her freak out even more.” 

“I can start working on some Kryptonian-proof ear plugs when I get to L Corp,” Lena said, offering an uplifting smile. “And a new pair of glasses since your mini-me has yours.” 

Kara chuckled and shook her head. “She does look really cute in them.” 

“She does, she looks just like you,” Lena said, placing a quick kiss on Kara’s lips. “Now I need to get both of our minis to school or  _ all  _ of us are gonna be late.” 

“Okay, I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter was so Lydia centric. It honestly wasn't intentional, but I'm back to having panic attacks almost every day and I wish I had parents like Kara and Lena who understood it, so this was kinda a vent chapter. But the next one will be more supercorp heavy, and I'm really sorry this one kinda sucked.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you want a chapter 2 where Lydia finds out she may have powers


End file.
